European

Reconstructing History aims to be your one-stop shop for the finest patterns for historical clothing and the supplies you need to make them. Owned and operated by internationally-noted historical clothing researcher Kass McGann, Reconstructing History has patterns for clothing from 10th-century Heian Japan to the Napoleonic era (1812).

The Duke University daily online newsletter has a short movie about the student who created a 3-D virtual cathedral, with a great deal of footage of the cathedral itself and links to other related items.

1500 years ago, the Justinian Plague swept through the world killing as many as 100 million people. Recently the remains of hundreds of people, believed to have been victims of the plague, were discovered in Castro dei Volsci, Italy.

Originally built by the Romans over the Vardar River in Macedonia, the Skopje Stone Bridge has been rebuilt and restored over the centuries, and described by travels throughout the Middle Ages. Last year parts of the bridge fell into the river, forcing the most recent reconstruction.

"Fish heads, fish heads..." A recent study of European cod bones shows that "cod were exploited in the Middle Ages from many, often distant, fishing grounds, with an international trade in dried stockfish." The fish were much larger in medieval times, and began to began to be traded around the year 1000 C.E.

Dragon Swords N Daggers offers medieval weapons and armor as well as articles on medieval history and information about medieval times and the period that spawned Europe from the V to the XV century. The articles include medieval weaponry and torture devices, the life within a castle walls, and knighthood.

The rise of Christianity in Europe may have led to reduced practice of washing, according to Katherine Ashenburg in Clean: An Unsanitized History of Washing. Judith Flanders has the review for The Telegraph.

A gold amulet dating to the 3rd century CE inscribed with a Jewish prayer has been discovered in the grave of a Roman child in Halbturn, Austria proving that people of the Jewish faith inhabited the country at the time.

"Odi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris/ Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior" ("I hate and I love. Why do I do it, perchance you might ask? I don't know, but I feel it happening to me and I'm burning up.") sings Ista, a German rap group that uses Latin verse in its performances.

The martial arts of western Europe are gaining popularity in the United States. Practices and conferences where participants wield swords, pikes and daggers, and quote from medieval and renaissance sources, are cropping up all over. Elizabeth Weise of USA Today has the story.

A new exhibit at Venice's Palazzo Grassi endeavors to disprove the reputation of the "barbaric tribes" during Europe's Dark Ages. Rome and the Barbarians: Birth of a New World will be at the Palazzo Grassi until July 20, 2008.

Onager offers replicas of ancient catapults as used by the Romans and other cultures up until the medieval period. These are fully functional wooden kits. Makes a great display piece, science project or gift for anyone with an interest in history, engineering or physics.

Build a working model trebuchet! Many sizes and styles are available, all fully functional. Makes a great display piece, educational project or gift for anyone with an interest in history, engineering or physics.

Now this exhibition is on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and will end soon: POMP AND GLORIA! Carriages of the Princes von Thurn und Taxis began at Sep. 19, 2007 and runs until Feb. 28, 2008 at the Wagenburg, Schönbrunn Palace.

Soon a new exhibition organised by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in collaboration with the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris will be on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Picture Gallery): Arcimboldo begins at February 12, 2008 and runs until June 1, 2008.

A new study claims that explorer Christopher Columbus may have been responsible for bringing syphilis to Europe. The controversial theory has been debated for years, but the new study of molecular genetics may show whether the theory is true.

Literature and the media have glamorized medieval battle, but the reality was much different. In truth, the melee was a "brutal free-for-all with few rules designed very much as a preparation for war."